Media Statement (2)
by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Friday, 14th
November 2008:
Selangor CPO should apologise to Ronnie Liu
for the unprecedentedly ill-mannered, rough and high-handed police
arrest of the Selangor state exco on Wednesday
The Selangor Chief Police Officer, Deputy
Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar should apologise to Ronnie Liu for the
unprecedentedly ill-mannered, rough and high-handed police arrest of the
Selangor state exco at the Selangor state secretariat on Wednesday, just
in time to prevent him from attending the weekly state exco meeting as
if he posed instant and major threat to national security and public law
and order.
The Police has to date failed to give any credible reason why the arrest
should be effected in so rude and crude a manner, when the police should
know that Ronnie was not about to be a fugitive from justice and from
his past record, would have fully co-operated with the police in his own
arrest.
I am not here disputing Ronnie’s arrest – putting aside for the moment
the merits and demerits of the charge pending against him – but the
manner of the arrest of a State Exco, raising the question asked by
Malaysians not only in Selangor but throughout the country that if the
police could be so highhanded and ill-mannered when dealing with a
Selangor State Exco, how could the ordinary man and woman in the street
expect good manners and courtesy from the Police in their everyday
interactions?
Ronnie is to be charged on Monday under Section 186 of the Penal Code
for the offence of obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his
functions, which is punishable on conviction to a two-year jail
sentence, RM10,000 fine or both.
If the two accused in the C4 murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya
Shaariibuu,
Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar (both members
of the Special Action Unit, UTK) could be treated with the extraordinary
and unprecedented kindness of covering their faces using the “ninja”
mask throughout the murder trial which have lasted over 150 days, can
the Selangor CPO explain why the police is incapable of the most minimal
considerations of courtesy and good manners when arresting Ronnie?
Is this why the Police has abandoned the earlier “mesra” slogan, to the
extent that the entire police motto of “Mesra, Cepat dan Betul” had been
dropped?
Khalid has also failed to explain why it has taken a full year to charge
and arrest Ronnie for an alleged offence over a very straightforward
matter for which a police report was lodged in November last year.
Let him come clean and give the relevant dates, when the Police
investigations were completed, when the investigation papers were
forwarded to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s office for action, when the
DPP decided that Ronnie be arrested and charged and when the police
received such instruction from the DPP!
If there is an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC),
all these information would have to be disclosed when a formal complaint
is lodged with the commission.
Is this why the police are so dead set against an IPCMC from being set
up to deal with police abuses of power, for the police would have
nowhere to hide their abuses, wrongs and mistakes?
I regret the unthinking intervention of the Home Minister, Datuk Syed
Hamid Albar who criticized me at the Parliament lobby yesterday
following my media conference deploring the manner of Ronnie’s arrest.
He said:
“Beliau sentiasa mengkritik kerajaan apabila pemimpin DAP dan ahli parti
ditahan polis termasuk menghalang tugas penguatkuasa.
“Perrnahkah dia cakap perkara baik mengenai polis. Jadi dia mesti
menjadi lebih rasional. Kita dapat lihat setiap tindakannya didorong
oleh politik," katanya. (Utusan Malaysia)
Just to prove Hamid wrong that I had never praised the police, let me
refer him to my media statement of March 2, 2006 where I gave “the
highest praise” to the then Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd
Bakri Musa for his speech opening a three-day course for OCPDs at the
Royal Malaysian Police College in Cheras a day earlier.
I said Bakri’s speech was a “most positive sign in the past 10 months
that the police leadership is not totally resistant to public
aspirations for police reform to become a world-class service and that
the Royal Police Commission recommendations will not be a complete waste
of time and resources”.
I had never been sparing in criticism of “black sheep” in leadership
positions in the public service, whether in Police or any other branches
of the government but my public record on looking after the welfare of
the police personnel, whether in Parliament or outside, is an open book.
I had not only supported, but constantly put pressure on the government
to improve the welfare, remuneration and working conditions of the
police force so that Malaysia has an efficient, dedicated, contented and
professional force to make Malaysia safe and secure for its citizens,
visitors and investors.
In the current meeting of Parliament, for instance, I had criticized
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan for supporting the RM20
billion proposal to rent 34 helicopters for the police for the next 30
years as the money can be better spent on the police rank-and-file to
improve their welfare and remuneration.
Let me ask Hamid when he is going to assume personal responsibility as
the Home Minister for the daily deterioration of public security
situation in the crime, and restore to all Malaysians their fundamental
right to be free from crime and the fear of crime?
This week alone, there had been a spate of major crimes like a petrol
kiosk cashier hacked to death by robbers in Ipoh, the murder of a
salesman found burnt inside his car showroom in Penang and another Mat
Rempit mob attack on five people in a car in Jalan Loke Yew, Kuala
Lumpur until they lost consciousness.
As Home Minister, Hamid should direct the police to return to the basics
to end their misallocation of priorities by maintaining as their topmost
priority the fight against crime and to reduce crime instead of
deploying limited police personnel and resources to harass and victimize
responsible and law-abiding Malaysians, including senior citizens, who
want just to exercise their democratic right to express their concerns
about justice, freedom and democracy in Malaysia through peaceful
gatherings or candlelight vigils.
Hamid should tell the police to keep an eye but to “stay off” from these
peaceful gatherings, which are always peaceful and full of goodwill and
camaraderie until the spell is broke by high-handed police provocations!
*
Lim
Kit Siang, DAP
Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor
http://dapmalaysia.org